Audi A3 8V HID headlight retrofit

[sasha]

Hi all,

Has anyone upgraded their halogen headlights on Audi A3 8V to HID? I just found this harness on eBay but not sure if any modules need to be replaced or coding need to be done...

Any help will be much appreciated!

[downtime]

autoscan would be nice so it would be easier to tell how many parts you need to upgrade for the HIDs

Mainly :
New compelete headlights with ballasts and AFS units
headlight control module
headlight adapters
leveling sensor to rear
possibly new BCM (depends if you have med or high)
new dimmer switch without headlight adjustment roll (or blank plug if dashboard dimming is done from instruments)
wiring and more wiring

Then couple of days for the installation and coding

oh and headlamp washers if you don't already have those. This means bigger water reservoir, additional motor for the washers and new bumper with washers

This way you will have fully road legal HIDs

[sasha]

Thanks @downtime. Sounds too complicated already. I have a donor car with HID so thought it would be an easy thing to do. Wiring loom swap alone looks like a major task sadly.

[downtime]

Just strip the parts from that car. If it has factory HIDs, it should have everything in place. It's just a swap basically. Of course a little bit more complicated but nothing that can't be done.

Honestly, it's not that bad what it sounds. If you have access to ELSA or you can buy some online time from Erwin to download the schematics, it really is not that bad. For headlights there's adapters available, but it's also possible to change just the connectors. You just need to get a connector toolset to make your life so much easier

[George Ab]

It is involved, but doable. I did this on a MK7 GTI and it should be quite similar on the Audi A3. This is my DIY: http://www.golfmk7.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29237 If the CAN bus does not need (can bus + and - are available for AFS module ) to be replaced it is not too bad. I would get cable connector conversion on the 10 to 14 pin connectors rather then the way I did it, that would simplify things. That cable conversion usually comes with the harness.

Also, you can do in two phases. OEM HID headlights and just connect shutter to BCM for brights, you have nice looking HIDs. You can add AFS functionality later.

[sasha]

Thanks George. I'm not to phased about AFS, just HID would be better than existing halogen. I'll read the guide and ask questions

So if I have Med BCM I'll need to swap to High or only if AFS is needed?

[downtime]

You need BCM high for the HIDs. Medium BCM does not have suitable outputs for shutters. The pins are physically missing.